


Rekindling The Flames

by latenightrambles



Category: Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Gen, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-23
Updated: 2017-07-23
Packaged: 2018-12-06 02:34:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11591136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/latenightrambles/pseuds/latenightrambles
Summary: What happens after Katniss comes home? How do she and Peeta rebuild their lives in the ashes of District 12?





	1. Darkness

**Author's Note:**

> A collection of short scenes of Katniss and Peeta after they return home. This isn't really full stories, just a few images that I imagine might have happened in the time following Mockingjay.

Broken. They were so broken.

It was never more obvious than at night. When she would wake up screaming, her arms clinging to him as she soaked his t-shirt with her tears. He would hold her tight, whispering soft words into her ear. Promising that they were both safe. But still, too often, his hands would tense, lifting carefully from her skin to curl and uncurl his fingers. He would go silent in those moments, and she could feel his breathing turn rapid, hear his heart racing in his chest.

They were both still so damn broken.

The doctor called once a week, each time promising that things would get better. She didn't even know what better meant. How could things ever get better when so many people that she loved were gone? 

The emptiness ran deeper than just the deaths, though those still haunted her dreams. It was the feeling of being abandoned. By her mother, by Gale, even by Haymitch who never spoke to her in more than drunken grunts anymore. Annie was doing good, motherhood was helping her heal they said. But she still couldn't bear to look at Katniss, to hear her voice.

"She doesn't blame you," they insisted when she asked.

Katniss knew that was a lie. There was no one left to blame.

Johanna was gone too, working to find some piece of herself that Snow hadn't destroyed. Beetee was helping rebuild the destroyed districts, working night and day on endless projects. Even Effie had found some new purpose and was too busy, busy, busy to call. No one who had a fraction of an idea of what the nightmares were from was there.

No one, except the boy with the bread.

In the early morning light, when it was obvious that the nightmares would not let them sleep, the pair shuffled into the kitchen downstairs and tried to start their day. Peeta began making bread dough, letting the wisps of rage still clinging to his hands find a useful outlet. Katniss would make tea, sometimes fry up some bits of meat and vegetables for their breakfast. They would then eat in silence. Outside, the sounds of the District coming back to life would eventually stir them into action.

Katniss never hunted the morning after bad nightmares. Peeta worried too much. He said he worried that she would be too distracted, get hurt by some of the wild animals that still roamed outside the safety of the fence. She knew that he was really worried that she would hurt herself. He knew that there were still nightlock bushes somewhere out in those woods. She never tried to argue with him. On her worst mornings, she knew exactly where each bush was growing.


	2. Snow

It was winter again. It had been a year since that day in the Capital, and outside a blizzard was raging. For a moment, Katniss thought the sky itself was mourning Prim's death with her. 

The bow and arrows hung from a hook just off the back door. Katniss kept feeling herself turning to look at them, an old habit from days when weather like this meant nothing to eat. But there was food. Katniss had taken care of that before the weather turned bad. Not just for herself, but for many of the families that had returned to rebuild. The Capital had also seen to potential shortages, sending food and medicine to the rebuilding populations only a few weeks before. It was paltry compared to what she had eaten in the Capital, but it was more than most of the families had ever had before. 

Peeta had made her promise no hunting. Not until the weather cleared and crews could clean some of the mess. He was hiding upstairs in one of the empty bedrooms, painting images of fire and destruction on the clean white canvas. He said it got them out of his head, stopped his mind from lingering on them all day. The bad paintings, the dangerous ones, were stuffed in the attic away from sight. She never went up there. He spent too much time up there.

They were still broken.

When the feeling of being trapped finally became too much, Katniss pushed herself from the counter. Cinna's winter coat would be warm enough, and she had practiced shooting with gloves on enough to feel secure in her abilities. Logically, she knew there would be nothing to hunt. In this weather, every animal would be burrowed down somewhere safe and hidden. But she needed to get out. Get away from the house that had too many memories, was too thick with loss. 

She was reaching for the doorknob when Peeta's voice stopped her.

"You're going hunting. real or not real?"

Katniss turned slowly, her face turning red at the embarrassment of being caught. Peeta couldn't be quiet on his best days, so she wondered how distracted she had been to not hear him come down the stairs.

"I just need to get out, for a little while."

He shook his head as he walked to her. She let him take her bow and hang it back on the hook, then as he carefully stripped off her coat and hunting gear. Without another word he took her hand and lead her upstairs, to the large bathroom that connected to the master bedroom. He filled the bathtub, pouring in some oil from one of the bottles her mother had left behind. He turned his back and waited as she undressed and crawled into the water.

Still so careful, even after all this time. 

When she was in he pulled out the fiddle that rested next to the bed and began playing softly. His hands were still clumsy, the music didn't always come out right. It had been a bargain. He would give art lessons with the little girl from the Seam, and her father would teach him how to play the fiddle. 

Katniss closed her eyes and let the body relax into the warm water. It was good to hear music again.


	3. Memories

Katniss sits on the couch next to Peeta, watching him sketch the unfamiliar face. This one isn't one of theirs, it's for Haymitch. He sits on the edge of the chair next to them, leaning over and watching the face come to life in Peeta's hand. 

Colin Toole. He was the District 4 winner two years before Finnick. Technically, he was Finnick's mentor, but he spent the entire time in the bottom of a bottle. Mags took over the duties for both tributes. She watched her girl die and helped Finnick survive.

_You'll see the choices you'll have to make. ___

__As his face becomes clear Katniss leans back, staring off into space. They had watched him, the video of his win was among the many Effie had sent them to study. But he wasn't reaped again. Maybe because the Capital thought he had been tortured enough, maybe because Snow knew he was too far gone to be part of any rebellion._ _

__Haymitch talked in short bursts. Colin's father had been made an Avox just months before the reaping. When Colin's name was drawn no one volunteered, they all knew why. He should have died when a pack of wild mutts cornered him. He should have died when temperatures dropped to below zero. He should have died at the hands of the stronger boy from District 1. But Colin survived. He fought and he killed and he made it back home._ _

__His mother drowned only a few months later. An accident, the effect of too much celebrating. Colin stopped fighting. He crawled into a bottle and stayed there._ _

__That must of been why Haymitch called him a friend._ _

__Peeta stops drawing for a moment to look up at Haymitch._ _

__"Was he part of the rebellion? Did he know?"_ _

__Haymitch shakes his head, turning his body to face the fireplace before taking a swig of the bottle he clutches tightly._ _

__"He died just before the reaping. Got his hands on a peacekeeper's gun. Or maybe he didn't. I don't know."_ _

__Peeta and Katniss look at each other for a long time, letting the soft crackle of the fire fill the silence in the room._ _

__Finally, Haymitch clears his throat and turns back toward them._ _

__"He had a fish, he kept in some glass bowl next to his bed. I think he called it Pint-Sized. He brought it with him when they dragged him to the Capital, said he didn't trust anyone back home to feed it."_ _

__They fall back into the rhythm of their evening. Haymitch sharing details in bursts for Katniss to write down. In the silences, they both watch Peeta draw with careful lines and curves. Tomorrow he will copy the sketch into the book, then salt the pages so they cannot fade._ _

__Outside the sun begins to set._ _


	4. Changes

Katniss and Peeta sit at the table and try to digest the news they have just read. Effie Trinket is married, and now expecting a baby.

"I thought she was old. Too old, you know," Peeta says quietly.

"Must have just been the makeup." Katniss shrugs but keeps her eyes on her hands. "I wonder what he's like?"

Peeta turns to stare out the window, watching the trees sway in the wind.

"Well, he's Capital, so maybe like her," he finally says.

They both groan then burst into laughter.

The early spring brought frequent storms that halted much of the construction outside. A small train brought some of the necessary supplies, that were now covered in a heavy tarp inside one of the empty Victor houses. It had also brought a few letters, cards from Effie now-Cable spreading the news, and more paints for Peeta. To Haymitch's annoyance though, it had no alcohol. 

"Maybe the next one," Thom had said as he tried carrying stacks of wood past the desperate Haymitch.

The news was meant to be happy. It was a new start, a fresh beginning for one of the few people they called a friend. After months of silence, it was good to hear from her, to know that she had found someone that made her feel safe. Of course, Effie never said that last part, but Katniss knew she could read between the lines. The war had damaged Effie too, in its own way.

Still, the news seemed to bring a dark cloud over them. Despite living together, Peeta moving in only a few weeks after his return, neither had ever talked about marriage. Never talked about their orchestrated engagement, the fake pregnancy, the almost-wedding. No one else brought it up either. Maybe everyone believed Peeta, thought they had really slipped away to have their own toasting, were as good as married in the eyes of 12. Maybe no one cared. 

Katniss dreamed that night that she was being chased by mutts wearing wedding dresses. Ahead of her Peeta was reaching out, trying to pull her to safety. But the distance between them kept getting longer. No matter how hard she ran she couldn't reach him. 

She woke up to Peeta holding her gently. His hand was stroking her hair as he whispered that she was safe. Burying her face in his chest, Katniss waited. Peeta's hand never faltered. He hadn't had a nightmare tonight.

Somehow that made her feel worse.


	5. Growth

The room smelled of cinnamon as Katniss sat on the counter waiting for the rolls to be done. Peeta had put the tray in the oven then went off to have a quick shower before they were done. Before he left the room he told her not to open the oven, and she was trying her hardest to stay away. 

On the table, there was already a bowl of fresh strawberries. Leftovers from yesterday's trip to the woods. She also had some goose eggs from Haymitch that she would fry while the rolls cooled. Tonight they would finish off the fish she had caught, along with a salad of greens and maybe some of the baby potatoes she had traded for at the market. 

The pantry was stocked. Cans of pre-made soups, preserved fruits and vegetables, and a few jars of sauces that Katniss had never heard of. The Capital had sent more than enough food on the last train. Things that would last a long time in case they weren't able to send more soon. But most people in 12 preferred fresh food. From the gardens that had sprung up around town, the chickens or geese that a few families were raising. And from hunting. 

Katniss was no longer alone in the woods. Though the number of hunters were still few. Too many she had worried would drive off game. But there was still enough fear to keep most people inside the fence. Those who went into the woods worked out a system so that no more than two were hunting in the same area at once. 

A tall, lanky boy named Reed was one of Katniss's favorite hunters. He could scurry up trees faster than Katniss and had picked up using a bow with ease. He was only 15, having moved from District 11 with his older sister the autumn before. They wanted to get away from their home, full of too many bad memories. For weeks he had followed Katniss in the woods, reminding her too much of Rue. It was Peeta that told her to talk to him, to help him learn to hunt. If nothing else, maybe the site of her scowl up close would scare him off.

Peeta had laughed, and she pretended to be angry.

But the alliance paid off. Together they brought home two geese, a whole deer, and a bag of apples from the top of a tree. Reed's face was beaming as they divided the food on Katniss's table. The deer had already been taken to the butcher, and she insisted that he get most of the meat since it was his arrow that killed it. 

Peeta was back in the kitchen, pulling the rolls out of the oven carefully. Katniss slid off the counter and pretended to sneak toward him.

"They're still hot," Peeta growled.

Raising her arms in surrender, she turned and started preparing the eggs. Today they would eat a big breakfast, then spend the rest of the day helping one of the crews in town finish the new community center. Tomorrow she would hunt again. And Reed would probably tell her more about the girl he spent too many days staring at, how bossy his older sister was, or about his new plan to raise rabbits.

Things were getting better.


End file.
